After the Dallas Mavericks made their first trip to the Conference Finals since 2022, head coach Jason Kidd discussed the development and maturation of superstar Luka Doncic over the last two seasons.
“At the time, he was arguably on the verge of becoming one of the greatest players in the world, but today he is undoubtedly among the best. He is more mature, has experienced all defenses, and has seen double teams.”
Kidd went on to say that Doncic’s understanding of what needs to be done better has been aided by his experiences over the past two seasons.
By the conclusion of the Oklahoma City Thunder series, he appeared to have recovered, recording impressive triple-doubles in Games 5 and 6 to advance the Mavericks to the Conference Finals.
In the 2022 Playoffs, Doncic averaged 31.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 6.4 assists while unilaterally shouldering a much heavier personal load to generate offense for the small roster he had at the time.
That run was made possible by his individual brilliance, but this time around, a more experienced Doncic has put more faith in teammates like Kyrie Irving, Derrick Jones Jr., PJ Washington, and Dereck Lively II to help them win.
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